1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a covering bag for covering a boat motor outdrive to isolate it from the surrounding environment and protect it from corrosion.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the popularity of water sports and recreation, the use of boats incorporating outdrives have gained in popularity. It is recognized that outdrives enjoy certain advantages in maneuverability of the powered vessel in negotiating turns and maneuvering in close quarters to dock side moorings. Many owners prefer, during the recreational season, to avoid the inconvenience and time consuming effort required to haul the powered vessel for storage at the end of each period of use.
Mooring of a boat in sea water, while adding to the convenience and enjoyment of the boat, possesses certain well known drawbacks. For instance, even for outdrives incorporating hydraulic or electrical motors enabling the stems thereof to be tilted up to raise the lower end relative to the water line, it is well known that because of design considerations and variations in motor mounts, the outdrive typically cannot be sufficiently elevated to fully clear the water line. This then frequently leaves the lower end of the stem and sometimes a portion of the propeller partially submerged in seawater leading to corrosion and rapid growth of sea life on the lower portion of the outdrive during extended periods of non-use.
Past efforts have led to the development of what is typically referred to as boat baths wherein a hammock-like water proof plastic sheet or the like is suspended beneath the hull of a moored boat with the peripheral edges thereof elevated above the water line by either flotation means or by securing to the dock itself. A flap is typically provided at the stern of the mooring which may be lowered for accommodating ingress and egress of the boat itself. When the boat is moored, the flap may be raised and water in the bath treated to retard sea growth or the like. Such baths, while retarding sea growth, suffer the shortcoming that they are relatively large, expensive to manufacture, somewhat unwieldy to install and use, and typically fail to insulate outdrives from any retained sea water.
Efforts to afford protection for outdrives themselves have led to the proposal of framework for fitting over an outdrive such that a protective canvas bag may be fitted thereover and tethered in position in effort to isolate and maintain water within the cover insulated from the ambient sea water. A device of this type is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,587,508 to Pearce. Protective covers of this type, while satisfactory for their intended use, suffer the shortcoming that the top of the cover is maintained open by the framework such that ambient sea water may be splashed thereinto and the cover itself is designed to retain residual sea water. While, to the extent residual sea water is effectively segregated from the ambient water, it may be treated to retard sea growth, it typically retains its corrosive effect.
It has also been proposed to cover an outdrive with a bag-shaped device during trailering of the boat. Such a device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,870,875 to Altimus. Such covers, while satisfactory for trailering of the boat, fail to afford protection from the corrosive and detrimental effects of surrounding sea water while the boat is moored.
Thus, there exists a need for an outdrive cover which will protect the outdrive from the corrosive effects while the boat is moored for extended periods of time.